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Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Slice of Life: Book Joy

A couple of weeks
ago, it was a very hot day here on the coast of New England.The temperatures remained in the eighties
even in the evening, which is something that only happens a handful of times
where I live.It was a great night to be
outside, so I put a book in my backpack, grabbed a towel, and hopped on my bike
and rode down to the beach.I spread my
towel in the sand when I got there and laid down. I soaked in the sunshine, relished the breeze,
and read The Daring Ladies of Lowell by
Kate Alcott. As I lounged in the sand reading, I was experiencing the present moment
– a perfect summer evening with warmth, sunshine, and the background noise of
the ocean. I also drifted into the
imaginary world of a young girl, in 1832, working in textile mill, suffering
the deplorable conditions in exchange for a wage that brings her freedom and
independence.It was a perfect
evening.I was in one of my favorite
places at one of my most favorite times of the year and I was getting lost in
another place and time that I could only experience through the pages of a
book.

This is something I
want my students to feel – the joy of being immersed in a story. I want them to be engaged and excited as the
books they read provide them with an experience beyond their world.For me, my love of reading began when I was a
kid.I loved my frequent library visits
in which I carried home a stack of books, always wanting to bring home more
than the allotted limit.I read every
Sweet Valley High book I could get my hands on.Whenever my teacher passed out a classroom book club flyer it was a big
deal and I eagerly anticipated the arrival of the books I ordered.Books have been an important part of my life
and have brought me joy for many years.Although some of my students have this same joy, there are others who do
not.As a reading teacher, I want to
help instill this joy of reading in all my students.

Although I love
reading now and loved it as a child, there was a time when I didn’t do much
reading.When I was in high school, I
remember a lot of assigned reading.Many
of the books my teachers’ assigned just didn’t engage me.Maybe, if I read Walden now I would be much more interested, but it just didn’t do
it for me when I was fifteen.I was
assigned books that I struggled to understand and had to reread over and over
again.If I reread Silas Marner today maybe I would enjoy it, but in high school I had
a very hard time comprehending what I was reading.I did not read books for pleasure beyond what
was asked of me in school.Sometime when
I was in college I rediscovered my joy of reading.I read mysteries and psychological thrillers
and detective novels. These were books I
didn’t want to put down, so unlike many of the books I had been assigned to
read in high school.I hadn’t known
these books existed.I thought the world
of “adult” reading consisted of the classics I read in high school, that often
left me confused or bored.

My life as a reader
has helped me to understand how important it is to offer students choice in
their reading.Great literacy teachers
know this and find ways to provide students with opportunities to choose what
they read, whether it’s during independent reading or literature circles.Students are more engaged when they are able
to choose books of interest to them.Because
of my own experiences as a reader, I also understand that students need to be
supported and guided in order to find books that are of interest to them.As a reader, I visit bookstores, read book
reviews, and talk to friends about books.I am aware of my book interests and I know how to find the books that
fit these interests.As a reading
teacher, who wants to instill the joy of reading, my job is to help students
find their reading interests, provide access to engaging books, and promote a variety
of books and genres.Through stocking my
library with books related to my students’ interest and providing book talks I
hope to support students in finding and reading books they will love.One of my goals this year is to increase the
amount of book talks that I conduct because I know there are many books my
students will never find if I don’t lead them there. If my students can find the joy in a book I have
recommended than I am helping them to develop a great reading life.

10 comments:

I don't think I'll ever enjoy "Silas Marner," but I do think there are ways to hook kids into reading poetry and the classics. We have to stop the worksheet, slice and dice merry-go-round.

I'll be teaching AP Lit and Comp next year and have struggled choosing books because above all, I want kids to engage w/ texts in a way that empowers them to be life-long learners and not just AP test hoop jumpers.

As Kyleen Beers says, "If we want kids to learn vocabulary, let them read." Everything we do must be w/ a focus on reading and writing. Nothing else matters as much.

Yes, authentic reading is so much more powerful than any worksheet! You are also right that there are ways to hook readers to read those texts they wouldn't read on their own. In some way helping students relate their own lives to what's happening in the text can be powerful.

I'm like you. At my high school we had to read for 15 minutes every morning. The whole school started in homeroom classes, had announcements and then read for 15 minutes before going to our first class. It was great, but I never read beyond those 15 minutes unless the book was really fabulous. I was worried I would finish it and not have anything to read during reading time! Now, I find myself reading only the books I think I will like. I am trying to expand my list though, to include the books my students are enjoying so I can join in on their conversation. I loved your opening description. I am missing that sort of freedom now that I am busy with my own little kids. :)

I am very picky about the books I choose for myself! I am often pleasantly surprised when I step out of my comfort zone. In the past few years I've tried to read more kids books that I can pass on to my students - many are not books I would necessarily want to read, but I know my students will like them.

I think it is very important to be able to select books that you want to read but I also think one of the roles of school is to expose students to a variety of ways of looking at the world. So, I also think assigned reading has merit. It would be nice if a teacher could strike a balance between those two objectives.

Also, as far as assigned reading, I think many students learn how to get away with not reading the book. In Chris Tovani's book, I Read It, But I Don't Get It, she talked about herself as a reader - in high school she was able to listen in to other students' conversations to figure out what a book was about and she could get by.